Running With Scissors...

She’s Got Class!

Meet Lady Loretta.  Isn’t she a glamor-puss?  She’s another one of my Loralie stamps I’ve been pussy-footing around and not getting inked up.  Shame on me!  But I’m happy now that Loretta and I have spent some quality time together.  Once you get to know her, she’s an awfully lot of fun!

I watercolored Loretta and her flowers with Stampin’ Up! reinkers using the lid of the matching ink pad for a palette.  The pink is Pixie Pink and the green is Old Olive.  Her nose is Close to Cocoa.  Her jewelry, lace trim, and the pupils of her eyes were colored with a black fine-tip Sharpie.  I used Tombow markers for the grays and her creamy complexion and the black flower centers.

The sentiment is an old Stampendous stamp which I just had to use with Lady Loretta, so I designed a 5 1/4” square card which would allow everything to fit.

The thing about Loralie stamps is the sample image on the package (plus a couple extra on the back) gives you ideas for how you might change things up on your own.  I used a fine-tipped waterproof Prismacolor Premier marker to add polka dots to her hair bow and to draw the lines on the bodice of her dress.  Any way you look at her, she’s a real charmer.

As you can see, I’m still not exactly producing cards by the dozens.  I’d like to spend more time stamping, but it just doesn’t always work out.  I sure do enjoy it when I’ve got the time, though.

Have a pleasant remainder of the week, and I’ll see you again on Saturday.  Take care!

Stamps:  Lady Loretta (Loralie Art Stamps), You’ve Got Style (Stampendous sentiment)  Paper:  90 lb hot press watercolor, black card base, BasicGrey Eva designer paper  Ink:  Palette Noir, others for watercoloring as listed above  Accessories:  Ribbon, silver cord, button, Scotch brand foam mounting tape (to pop up one flower on the left)

Rita’s Back!

Hello!  This weekend I decided to finish up another Rita card.  I do have several other Loralie stamp sets, but I wanted to be sure and give Rita a little more love before moving on.  Actually, I started this Rita back in April.  Sheesh!  More than two months ago and I’m just now finishing her?  For shame!

It’s certainly not clean and simple like the last card I shared, but Rita is not a CAS kind of gal.  She loves to get dressed up!  This is when card making gets really fun.  I put her on a 5 1/2” square card today.  I have envelopes to fit so I figured I might as well go for it.  Lots of room to work and in this case I could use the extra room.  Despite everything going on here, she fits comfortably in her envelope.

I watercolored Rita with Tombow markers on 140 lb hot press watercolor paper.  I like hot press paper because its finish is very smooth and the paper tends to feel more lightweight than cold press paper – good for cards.  90 lb is even better for cards, but hard to come by.  I purchased this paper at a local art supply store.  It comes in large sheets – jumbo poster size – at $6.95 per sheet.  Arches Aquarelle.  The folks at the store obligingly cut it down to 8 1/2 x 11 sheets (with some left over) so I can store it easily on my stamp room shelves.

The sentiment is from Hambo.  If you’re looking for humorous or fun sentiments, that’s the place to go.  I separated it to make two tags using Spellbinders Nested Pennants.  I trimmed with lace over white satin ribbon.  I have yards upon yards of lace from my sewing days and I vow to start using it more.  I’m inclined to think of lace in terms of vintage designs, but I’ve been wrong about that.  More lace to come.  It’s just plain pretty.

All other ingredients are listed in the recipe below.  Rita and I will say “goodbye” for now, and perhaps she’ll send one of her friends along to visit soon.  Take care!

Stamps:  Rita (Loralie), Fractured Funnies sentiment (Hambo)  Paper:  Bazzill textured blue, Pink Pirouette, 140 lb hot press watercolor, Flourishes Classic White, gold metallic cardstock, BasicGrey Annalee designer paper  Ink:  Palette Noir, various Tombow Markers for watercoloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, lace, rhinestones, Spellbinders Labels Four and Seventeen, Spellbinders Flourish Accent Shapeabilities, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Ravishing Rita

Hello, and happy Monday to all!  I’m back at work today after what will have to pass for a vacation.  My husband and I spent the entire week painting the dining room/kitchen/hallway area, and you know how that goes – one thing led to another, and I can only say thank goodness we had a week to get it done.  I’m now behind in absolutely everything else, and trying not to think about it too much.  One thing at a time…

I stole a moment here and there with my morning cup of coffee trying to get Rita dolled up for a card, and finally finished her on Sunday.

I had never seen these Loralie stamps until recently when I spotted them at my local scrapbook store.  I loved them so much I could hardly contain myself, and I ended up with seven sets!  For the most part, Loralie stamps are people characters – very fun, and something for everybody – but these animal characters are what really tickled my fancy.  You can see all the Loralie stamps here. 

This lovely feline is Rita.  I watercolored her with Tombow Markers on 140 lb cold press watercolor paper.  I drew the stripes onto her hat ribbon with the N95 marker (light grey) after first painting the ribbon and allowing it to dry.  I filled in the pupils of her eyes with a black fine-tipped Sharpie and left a little dot of white uncolored for the eye glint.  I should have done the same with her nose…there’s always a next time, I guess.

She was pretty easy to cut out and pop up, and that seemed the best way to allow some of the designer paper to show on this A2 size card.  No sentiments are included in the Loralie sets, but I have lots that work well with these stamps.  This one is from Stampin’ Up!  It sounds like something Rita would say, or it could be said about Rita.  I think she’s absolutely fabulous!  Love her!

Pictured below are the markers I used for coloring.  I Photoshopped the numbers onto the caps so they’d be easier to read.

That about sums it up!  I’ll be popping in later this week and I hope to see you then.  Have a good day!

Stamps:  Rita (Loralie Art Stamps), Absolutely Fabulous (Stampin’ Up!)  Paper:  Basic Black, ivory, 140 lb cold press watercolor, Webster’s Pages Hollywood Vogue designer paper  Ink:  Palette Noir, Tombow Markers for watercoloring  Accessories:  Offray ribbon, Cuttlebug D’Vine Swirls embossing folder, Stampin’ Up! edge punch, Spellbinders Standard Circle and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities, and Nested Lacey Pennants, Scotch brand foam mounting tape